Biofacts_-_Pelts

Question 1

Q: Which animals have fur or hair?

Answer 1

Mammals are the only animals that have hair or fur.

Question 2

Q: What is a pelt?

Answer 2

A pelt of a mammal is their skin and fur

Question 3

Q: Functions of skin in mammals? Which is considered the primary function?

Answer 3

Primary function is defense or protection.
Barrier protecting the animal’s soft inner structures against impact and pressure and maintain stable bodily fluids.
Sensory receptor for touch, pain, cold, and heat.

Question 4

Q: Functions of fur? Which is considered the primary function?

Answer 4

Primary function: Temperature regulation (both via. color and air trapping). Insulation against variation in environmental temperatures.
Primary function: Protection.
Waterproofing.
Camouflage.
Sensing nearby surroundings. (physical touches, wind direction, water currents)
Communication. (e.g., standing on end to indicate danger)

Question 5

Q: Does fur differ within species depending on where they live?

Answer 5

In areas that are either warmer or that have lower humidity levels, their fur tends to be lighter. [Color or thickness? Slides don’t specify, but context suggests color. Both are probably true.]

Question 6

Q: Examples of species that have light-colored coats and live in hot, arid environments?

Answer 6

Camel, lion, meerkat, and kangaroo.

Question 7

Q: Universal function of external pigmentation? Which common color pattern serves this function?

Answer 7

Provide protection from ultraviolet radiation.
One reason for countershading. (dorsal sides tend to be darker)

Question 8

Q: What is countershading? What functions does it serve? Animal examples?

Answer 8

Animal coloration where it’s darker on the dorsal side and lighter on the ventral side.
Serves as camouflage.
Also result of the fact that pigmentation provides UV protection.
Camouflage examples: penguins, red pandas, and koalas.

Question 9

Q: What is disruptive coloring? Function?

Answer 9

Coloring that helps break up an animal’s outline, thus making it more difficult to see or recognize, like stripes and spots.

Question 10

Q: Keratin

Answer 10

A protein and the major structural component of skin, hair/fur, fingernails, claws, horns and hoofs of mammals, and feathers and beaks of birds.

Question 11

Q: How is the physical perturbation of hairs detected by the body?

Answer 11

Nerve endings are wrapped around the follicle.

Question 12

Q: Discuss fur layers

Answer 12

Two layers: guard hairs and undercoat.
Guard hairs: long, coarse, (transparent in Polar Bears), (hollow in Polar Bears, wolverine, caribou)
Undercoat: dense, softer
Guard hairs protect against damage, provide coloration, shed rain/snow, aid in waterproofing, and can be fluffed up for intimidation or extra insulation (this is what goosebumps are for).
Undercoat provides insulation by trapping layer of air.

Question 13

Q: One thing warm-blooded animals can do when they get cold (besides fluffing up fur)?

Answer 13

Shivering. Generates heat.

Question 14

Q: Characteristics of hairs in aquatic mammals?

Answer 14

Guard hairs are so dense that it is almost impossible to wet.
Often waterproofed by oily secretions from sebaceous glands.
Note: aquatic birds also waterproof feathers with oils

Question 15

Q: Example non-aquatic mammal whose pelt is waterproofed by oily secretions from sebaceous glands?

Answer 15

Wolverine.
Also very dense fur.
Because of this, wolverine pelts are favored for use in coat linings by hunters and trappers.

Question 16

Q: Who has hollow, air-filled guard hairs? Benefits?

Answer 16

Polar bear, wolverine, and caribou/reindeer.
Help the guard hairs from matting when it gets wet and snowy.
Helps these high latitude animals maintain their insulated layer even in extreme cold.
Gives them some buoyancy while swimming.

Question 17

Q: Is there a situation where dense fur is actually much less useful for staying warm? Example animals?

Answer 17

Deep-diving mammals go deep enough that the pressure would push the air out of their pelts, so they need blubber. (also bodies shaped efficiently for heat retention; low ratio of surface area to volume)
Ex: deep-diving seals and sea lions.

Question 18

Q: Who has the densest fur of all animals?

Answer 18

Sea otters,

Question 19

Q: How do whales and dolphins stay warm?

Answer 19

They have naked skin on their torsos but they have thick blubber for insulation.

Question 20

Q: Pelt maintenance strategies

Answer 20

Mammals use self and/or mutual grooming to maintain their pelt. Use teeth, tongue, claws, nails. Removes dirt, pests, tangles. Also spreads skin oils.
Mammals replace their fur in annual or seasonal sheds. Keeps fur fresh. May change color for season.

Question 21

Q: Effect of skin oils on fur.

Answer 21

Keeps hairs smooth, pliable, and water-resistant.

Question 22

Q: Examples of body parts used for pelt maintenance in specific mammals.

Answer 22

Felines and wolves groom with their tongues.
Sea lions have noticeable claws that are used to groom their fur.
Lemurs have a row of forward-pointing teeth in the lower jaw that are used as a ‘tooth comb’ for self-grooming.
Monkeys and apes rely on their prehensile hand for grooming.

Question 23

Q: Added benefit of mutual grooming?

Answer 23

Parents help groom their offspring to establish parental bonds.
Breeding couples groom to establish close relationships.
Used to reinforce rank in a hierarchical society within social animals. Usually lower ranking submissive animals are expected to groom the more dominant members of the group. This is especially true in the primates.

Question 24

Q: Example animal whose pelt changes coloration.

Answer 24

Arctic hare sports a brilliant white coat that provides excellent camouflage in a winter of ice and snow. In spring, the hare’s colors change to blue-gray to more closely resemble local rocks and vegetation. The fur grows thicker in the winter, to insulate the hare against the cold.

Question 25

Q: Vibrissa. Definition and purpose.

Answer 25

A whisker, any of the long, stiff, thick hairs growing around the mouth or elsewhere on the face of many mammals, used as organs of touch to sense nearby surroundings.
Most commonly used to locate food.
Detect air currents, which may warn of approaching danger.
Very sensitive to touch; the base of each whisker is well-supplied with nerves.

Question 26

Q: Which group of mammal has particularly abundant sensory nerves? Why?

Answer 26

Pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) have 10 times the innervation of terrestrial mammals; they sense vibrations in the water and are able to forage in muddy waters.

Question 27

Q: Role of whiskers in early evolution of mammals?

Answer 27

The first mammals were small, arboreal, and coexisted with dinosaurs. They became adapted to the main ecological niches that weren’t occupied by the dominant dinosaurs: hunting insects at night, when predatory dinosaurs were least active, and living high up in trees. Facial whiskers would have given these early mammals a sensory advantage, using the increased sensitivity of touch provided by vibrissae to help them move and hunt in the dark.

Question 28

Q: CITES

Answer 28

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)
An international agreement between governments of over 175 nations. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
Wildlife trade is a major source of threats to wild animals. Wildlife crime is a big business.

Question 29

Q: Connection between pelts and conservation?

Answer 29

Many animals with attractively colored or patterned fur coats have become endangered from being hunted for their pelts.
There is a significant illegal fur trade.
Furs of boreal, polar, and cold temperate mammals have been the most valued.

Question 30

Q: Illegal fur trade

Answer 30

Many animals with attractively colored or patterned fur coats have become endangered from being hunted for their pelts.
There is a significant illegal fur trade, especially for tiger fur within Asia.
These endangered species include big and medium cats.

Question 31

Q: Factors that have reduced the need for fur hunting?

Answer 31

Captive breeding on fur farms increases supply.
Restriction of trade in furs and skins by the CITES agreement.

Question 32

Q: One of the most powerful tools for addressing illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade that docents can communicate to zoo guests?

Answer 32

Addressing the demand.
Persuading consumers to make informed choices.
This includes the people buying the end product as well as shop-keepers, suppliers and manufacturers.
Discourage the purchase of certain wildlife goods and encourage the production and purchase of sustainable wildlife goods.
E.g., support the ban on selling any object containing ivory or refusing to purchase clothing containing animal fur.